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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jan 13, 2017 8:06:40 GMT -5
Hey guys, I'm about to replace my old computer from 2009 with a completely new one. Have done my research and would really appreciate your input and ideas! Some considerations: 1. My main PC hobby is Microsoft Flight Simulator (FSX). This is old dynosaur leans more on CPU than GPU. 2. I have never overclocked, but am open to try it if a lot performance is gained. Should I overclock or choose for a non-K processor, a cheaper motherboard, cooler and power supply? 3. What is XMP? I read somewhere if I enable "XMP", the processor below would run at 4,2Ghz. How to obtain that and which memory speed goes with it? As for memory, I want 16GB. These are the parts I have shortlisted. Intel Core i5-7600K Boxed Asus Prime Z270-A MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GT OC Toshiba DT01ACA200, 2TB Sharkoon BW9000-V (Closed) Black Scythe Mugen 5 Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 Asus DRW-24D5MT (bulk) Black Corsair RM550x Crucial MX300 Please help me making the right decisions!
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Post by mcbain{QAW} on Jan 13, 2017 23:48:38 GMT -5
Absolutely go for SSD for your main OS drive. Not sure what XMP is. 32gb for memory seems like a sweet spot for performance/$$.
I wonder what looking at an old Xeon processor system (like my recent server purchase, check thread!) would do for FSX?? My Xeon E5-1650 has 6 cores @ 3.2Ghz. I got it furbed for around $400. Just add an SSD, memory, and a video card. Might be an option.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jan 14, 2017 8:40:07 GMT -5
Yeah, I absolutely go for a SSD. Got my eye on the Crucial MX300 525GB for Windows 10 and FSX. Plenty of space. Non-important stuff will go on a Toshiba 2TB HDD.
That Xeon system would do fine for FSX. For sure, it will outperform what I'm using now. As FSX relies heavily on CPU, but in the future I may leave it for Xplane which is a way more balanced platform. Even to the point that a GTX 1060 may not be good enough... but that's for another time.
A webshop around here that assembles PC's has a bundle on offer for a discount, that includes the i7-7700K, Asus Prime Z270-P, be quiet! Pure Rock cooler and 16GB DDR Corsair Vengeance RAM. I asked them if I could use their discounted bundle as a base for them to build the whole PC, and yes they would do that.
I don't think this motherboard and cooler are what you want if you decide to overclock (I wanted AT LEAST the Asus Prime Z270-A), but this i7 already runs as fast as I wanted to overclock the i5 too. So that levels it. The discount means that my previous configuration around the i5 would cost as much as this i7-configuration...
What do you think? I'm leaning towards this i7-build (with their discount in mind):
Intel i7-7700K Asus Prime Z270-P be quiet! Pure Rock Corsair 16 GB DDR4-2400 MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GT OC Toshiba DT01ACA200, 2TB Crucial MX300 SSD, 525GB Sharkoon BW9000-V (Closed) Black Asus DRW-24D5MT (bulk) Black Corsair RM550x 55W Power
On this system, I choose not to overclock.
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Post by mcbain{QAW} on Jan 14, 2017 10:53:58 GMT -5
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jan 20, 2017 7:07:45 GMT -5
They seem to offer a very good price, because I can't find it cheaper anywhere. The total price is holding me back a little though, as this whole build costs me dearly. Have asked them to drop even further, but suddenly I don't appear to be an interesting customer to them anymore.
I think I won't overclock on this system either. The achilles heel as far as "future proof" is concerned, will probably the GPU anyway. Not so much the CPU.
Xplane is definitely much better than FSX, but it's expensive and there are (as of present) still too little add-ons. And it's the tons of add-ons that really make for the whole flight sim experience.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 20:34:05 GMT -5
If you have the budget, I built this last week: pcpartpicker.com/list/HcHwKZThe case is enormous and has dual chambers, all the wires are in the back which leaves all your motherboard components easily accessible. I can pretty much play any game at highest settings - the 1070 is a beast. Also if you have Amazon prime, all those parts are available on Amazon -- so you can get all parts pretty quickly.
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Cmdo.Delta
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Post by Cmdo.Delta on Apr 2, 2017 20:40:04 GMT -5
If you have the budget, I built this last week: pcpartpicker.com/list/HcHwKZThe case is enormous and has dual chambers, all the wires are in the back which leaves all your motherboard components easily accessible. I can pretty much play any game at highest settings - the 1070 is a beast. Also if you have Amazon prime, all those parts are available on Amazon -- so you can get all parts pretty quickly. Awww where is the 1080 quick! It's a shame
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 20:41:35 GMT -5
Heh 1070 is good for another decade
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Cmdo.Delta
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Post by Cmdo.Delta on Apr 2, 2017 21:00:07 GMT -5
Indeed better than my 760 :s
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2017 1:15:11 GMT -5
It's the era of 4K tho
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filthy
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Post by filthy on Apr 25, 2017 23:35:28 GMT -5
Go with the i5 K cpu to get closer to the budget. That's the first cut I would make. To save more you can run it at stock speeds with the boxed cooler and then upgrade that down the road and overclock it then. You may have to pull the motherboard to upgrade the CPU HSF though, that's a bummer if you are working with a tight case.
An old Xeon is great for some things but I kinda doubt Flight Sim X makes good use of the extra cores/threads (if we are talking about the old 6-core CPUs that are cheap now). I'm guessing you would want higher single-core performance.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Apr 26, 2017 3:53:19 GMT -5
The new computer build is now a bit of a slow project, but last week I did buy the EVGA GTX 1060 6GB SUPERCLOCKED instead of the MSI that I actually wanted. It's a single fan card and intended for mini ITX, but I got it at a REALLY GOOD price ($60 below retail) and don't think there's much performance difference between all these 1060's anyway. So considering the price, I don't think I'll regret this. I've made up my mind and will go for the i7-7700K. It's stock speed is really good, and I can always choose to overclock it later on if I need to. On FSX and Xplane forums, it seems to be the obvious choice and I'm not spending much money on the GPU as I'll still be on 1080p for the next couple of years... Oh yeah, the MSI Z270 SLI Plus seems to be a great budget motherboard. I'm having my eyes on that one now and, as I do with all other parts, will buy it if I see a good deal. I'm in no hurry and only buy parts when they're on discount
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Smqp_jojo
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Post by Smqp_jojo on Apr 27, 2017 1:31:19 GMT -5
I may be a bit biased because my whole computer is MSI, but I think the MSI Z270 SLI Plus motherboard would be a good choice for you, especially if you're going to get MSI Gfx.
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filthy
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Post by filthy on Apr 27, 2017 2:18:18 GMT -5
I like MSI motherboards, my fav. I hate to call Z270 SLI Plus budget line though. Can we call that midrange or low-mid? As far as MSI video cards I haven't ever been as impressed. On par with Asus and Gigabyte which is just fine. Honestly I like EVGA best at this point. The "ACX 3.0" heatsink/fans and the models with metal backplates are nice. Ballbearing fans instead of sleeve style which some brands still use. They last as well as any brand in my experience. I think you will be happy with this rig, strong but practical. Tell me about FSX. I bought it on Steam but have only messed around with little planes and then failing to land big jets since I bought it. I had a pirated copy waaaaay back when it came out. Had all the add-ons already and I played the heck out of it. What do you use for input? flight stick? pedals? I don't know where to start anymore but I WANNA FLY.
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Smqp_jojo
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Post by Smqp_jojo on Apr 27, 2017 2:27:05 GMT -5
I have also never really liked MSI video cards. I stick to NVIDIA myself. Right now I'm running the NVIDIA GTX1060 6Gb
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BlaZeR
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Post by BlaZeR on Apr 27, 2017 8:23:57 GMT -5
I have also never really liked MSI video cards. I stick to NVIDIA myself. Right now I'm running the NVIDIA GTX1060 6Gb That's because you have a laptop with the chip soldered to the motherboard, when assembling computers you face a lot of dilemmas of which brand will suit your needs better. Im happy with Asus Strix, the temperatures are really great under load.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Apr 27, 2017 11:45:49 GMT -5
I think the Asus Strix is the best 1060 out there, but I chose the EVGA SC because of the price. Btw, it has the ACX 2.0 fan but still way better cooling than the non-SC version.
The MSI Z270 Sli Plus is of course not a budget motherboard in general, but it is one of the cheaper Z270's. Midrange I can live with hehe. It would absolutely satisfy my needs.
I learned the basics with FS9 and with FSX, flight sim became a hobby. I only use a joystick for input and have a modest amount of payware addons, but you can take this hobby pretty far dollar-wise. If you want, you can PM me and ask me more so that we don't hijack this thread.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on May 19, 2017 2:23:26 GMT -5
Been a month since praising the MSI Z270 Sli Plus and guess what I bought... the ASUS Prime Z270-A! They have a cashback promotion running and I can get 90 euro back on this motherboard next month. Quite a good deal me thinks.
Only catch was that you had to buy an Intel processor with it, so I went ahead and bought the i7-7700K which I already wanted to buy anyway. Kind of half way my build now and still not in a hurry. Will continue to keep an eye out for the discounts!
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BlaZeR
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Post by BlaZeR on May 19, 2017 12:09:48 GMT -5
I do that too, my entire rig is built from deals.. My latest adquisition was a razer blackwidow chroma v2 for $100 bucks, pretty good deal.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on May 24, 2017 9:07:33 GMT -5
Just bought this PSU to keep the project going: EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G3 550W
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jun 12, 2017 4:51:34 GMT -5
It's running! Completed my built over the weekend and everything works. Well, hardly anything installed but everything seems to run well. Got a lovely cable management going on too, so it looks very clean and tidy. Also put in an additional 120mm fan for more airflow. Final specs are: Intel i7-7700K Asus Prime Z270-A EVGA GTX1060 6GB SC Crucial 16GB DDR4 Crucial MX300 525GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD EVGA SuperNova 550W G3 Scythe Mugen 5 Coolermaster Masterbox 5
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Post by boca{QAW} on Jun 12, 2017 8:31:58 GMT -5
now POST some pics.
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amig0
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Post by amig0 on Jun 12, 2017 8:45:12 GMT -5
now it should run et just fine =)
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BlaZeR
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Post by BlaZeR on Jun 12, 2017 10:46:17 GMT -5
Enough to run ET Imo. That's a monster pc man, what was the final investment $?
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jun 14, 2017 2:53:12 GMT -5
In the first pic you see the computer just after assembly, with the front and side panels still removed. I had replaced the stock exhaust fan in the back with a new one and put the stock one in the front, so that there are now two intake fans. Through the BIOS I'm running these three fans faster than standard and they create a lot of wind, which is good as Kaby Lake's i7's run a little too hot sometimes. Plus I still want to mildly overclock the whole thing. The case came with a plastic cover for the power supply, but it just didn't make any sense to me to cover the PSU's fan. Instead, I just moved that cover a little bit to the middle to hide some cables and create a windtunnel for my two drives. The HDD and SSD are in the brackets on the bottom right, hardly visible. In the other picture you see everything a little more in close up. The case has a window and the motherboard gives a very minimal LED-lighting, but where I put my computer under my desk it's impossible to look inside anyway. I think I'll just turn the LED off in the BIOS when I have time for it. As for costs, this build cost "just" around €1.250 and that took a lot of effort buying items when on promotion or discount and have the patience to wait until prices drop. I'm sure prices in the USA are different, so it's hard to compare, but for this kind of money this is a great machine.
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Post by tonofclay{QAW} on Jun 14, 2017 9:47:19 GMT -5
Looks great! I should post a picture of my open case so everyone can fully appreciate how nice and tidy yours is
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BlaZeR
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Post by BlaZeR on Jun 14, 2017 14:52:44 GMT -5
That's nice man, I'll post some pictures of my setup as well . Just a quick note I think your PSU is backwards, check if the case has any grills or vents on the bottom if they exist then the PSU fan (intake) is supposed to be facing the grill.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jun 15, 2017 2:49:14 GMT -5
Yes, it does have a grill on the bottom and I have had installed my PSU facing down first. I turned it facing up again, after thinking that I probably won't ever clean the dust filter on the bottom and with an intake fan sucking air from below, it will become dusty eventually. In retrospect, either facing down or up didn't matter that much, as the PSU's fan is not moving 99% of the time in EVGA's "Eco Mode".
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BlaZeR
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Post by BlaZeR on Jun 15, 2017 8:58:17 GMT -5
Yes, it does have a grill on the bottom and I have had installed my PSU facing down first. I turned it facing up again, after thinking that I probably won't ever clean the dust filter on the bottom and with an intake fan sucking air from below, it will become dusty eventually. In retrospect, either facing down or up didn't matter that much, as the PSU's fan is not moving 99% of the time in EVGA's "Eco Mode". That is correct, most psus don't really use the fan unless the temperature rises in load times. But per the location of the psu if your flow is pushing air from the front and throwing it in the back I think it would me more beneficial to get fresh air from the bottom than warmish air from inside the case.
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Post by Lion{QAW} on Jun 16, 2017 2:43:20 GMT -5
Thanks Blazer, I read a little more into it and you're right. I changed the PSU back to face down and now I think it's indeed the better way. The plastic cover is now over the PSU and I tucked away the cables underneath it. I must say, it actually even looks better now than it did!
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